FOOD RECOLLECTIONS

Something I came across in our recent purging spell was a little notebook in which I  noted memorable foods. Yes, of course it should be thrown away. Anyone in his right mind would toss it without a second thought.  If I share my jottings with you, that will help me release the pages to the round file.

In Amsterdam I discovered
        ≈French fries served with mayonnaise
          (much better than ketchup, methinks)
In France I still remember       
        ≈a seedless raspberry tart. How, I                        
            wonder, was that produced?
         ≈Icky cheese.....I'm not fond of smelly
            cheeses. When I was asked if I 
            would like some Stilton, I politely
            said, "No, thank you" and the lady
            misunderstood and put a sizable
            slice of it on my plate. 
          ≈Rising before dawn to get to a 
            famous antique sale, we ate at an 
            obscure cafe. A basket of fresh
            croissants on the table made even the
            scrambled eggs memorable.

In England
          ≈Fish and chips lived up to their
            reputation.
          ≈Breakfasts in the B&Bs....always
            including tomatoes and limp bacon
          ≈In one pub after dinner, dessert was
            served.......cheesecake under a 
            mound of real whipped cream.

Ruth's Chris
          ≈The prices will prohibit another
             visit, but I'll always remember the
             sizzling ribeye steak, served with
             a pat of butter on top.

Louisville, KY
          ≈In a little cafe on the river road, we
            were served hot pulled pork sand-
            witches long before they became
            popular here.

Honolulu, Hawaii
          ≈Seeking out real Hawaiian food, we
            ate at an unpretentious cafe that
            served pork, swimming in its own fat,
            greens and poi. I don't remember it
            for the food, but for the huge male
            customers that ate there.

Los Angeles, CA, Philippe's
          ≈The double dipped pork sandwiches
             drew us across town. We added

             hot, hot mustard and a scoop of
             cole slaw and moaned with pleasure.
             One time when I suggested having
             supper there, we hopped in the car, 
             drove to Philippe's and on returning
             home found that in our haste we'd
             neglected to close the front door. 

Claremont, CA, Walter's
           ≈I could never order anything other
             than the lamb burrito.

             Fabulous! Lamb cooked 
             with sauce, baked beans and cheese
             inside a flour tortilla topped with
             sour cream and alfalfa sprouts,
             served with Afghan potatoes.

           ≈In my experience, no waffle can
             compare to the one served by Ole's
             in Alameda, California. Crisp, 
             tender, good!

Oakland, CA, The Lighthouse

           ≈Garlicky chicken wings...bleu
             cheese is the traditional thing to
             serve with them, but I prefer the
             ranch dressing.

Culinary Institute of New Orleans
             ≈With an Elderhostel group we
                went here for a cooking demon-
                stration and discovered how much
                I liked gumbo. It was there that
                the chef said, "If you are cooking
                with electricity, there's only one
                thing to do. Move."

Arcadia, CA, Moffats
                ≈THE place to go for chicken pies
                   if you like them filled with 
                   gravy and chicken, no peas.           
                   my opinion, the healthy stuff
                   should be served on the side.

Glendale, CA, Café du Monde
               ≈Alas, this restaurant closed years
                 ago, but I remember so well
                 their garlic soup and steak au
                 poivre vert (a dish I learned to 
                 make at home.)

Glendale, CA,  Jax
                ≈Baby back ribs are always our 

                  choice here.......when am I going
                  to learn that it's no longer "we", 
                  but "my"......?

Montrose, CA, Town Deli
                ≈Another restaurant of the past.
                  Love their version of Chinese
                  Chicken Salad, even if the owner
                  was Mexican.

Bar Harbor, ME
                ≈It was in a restaurant
                  here that I ate the only
                  lobster roll I've ever had.
                  It was utterly delicious.

Nova Scotia
                ≈On the same trip, it was
                  here that I ate a lemon
                  ice box dessert that was so
                  good that I ordered a
                  second one (and I was
                  much smaller then)

Eagle Rock, CA,  Casa Bianca
                ≈If you time it just right
                  and arrive at opening time
                  you can be seated at
                  once......otherwise prepare
                  to wait. I'm sure all the
                  dishes are good here, but
                  we always ordered pizza.

I think this needs to be done in two parts, so we'll finish it tomorrow. Okay?
                 
 Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?  
                                      ~Author Unknown            

"GETTING TO GO"

I'LL FOREVER WONDER if the reason I came through the mastectomy without losing my sanity might be because I had become so hungry for something different to do that I welcomed even what promised to be a negative experience. I'm a hypochondriac who is deathly afraid of doctors, and the family marveled at what appeared to be "bravery" on my part, but I don't think it could be termed "courage" and certainly not "fearlessness"......how embarrassing if it was merely "boredom".




So after seeing Mr. Bob through months of treatment (and one of these days I must come clean about what living with chemo was REALLY like, but not just yet), and weeks of my own tests and surgery and recuperation and the beginning of my own  chemotherapy program, the last week of "rest" between medications has been what in the drug world might be termed a "trip". 


Even though my eyesight seems to have dimmed somewhat, my receptors have been overwhelmed with insights and ideas and appreciations. One night I made myself get up at 3 a.m. to write down some of the thoughts that were flooding my brain, just so I could fall back into the sleep that usually comes so easily.

I've been letting myself be more spontaneous about going places and following through on ideas, dragging my own precious Scrooge along with me, so far with less complaints from him than when I'm trying to please him rather than myself. 


A friend I'd not seen for months suggested meeting for lunch last week and the actuality brought me such pleasure that I determined to indulge myself more often. That very same evening we joined our former neighbors for our monthly Chinese dinner at a big round table with a lazy Susan in the middle, laden with succulent offerings; definitely the way to go at an Asian restaurant is with a large group which gives one a taste of many flavors. After dinner I drove through Montrose which always enhances one's Christmas spirit.  The tree that was written about in scathing terms in our local paper didn't shock me at all, but rather brought a smile to my face because it dared to be so different. I know who wrote the letter of complaint and I'm sitting on my hands to keep from responding. Christmas isn't the time to be argumentative.

Two days later, we partied rather than stitching at the weekly Needlepoint Group, with lunch and an ornament exchange that was good fun.


Breakfast with friends on  Sunday, after which, wonder of wonders, I was moved to get the first Christmas tree we've had in probably 15 years. I'll do a separate entry about it. I still can't believe it happened as I marvel at the whiffs of Christmas that emanate from it.


Remember, everything that I like, I tend to do in excess and being sprung from what felt like bondage, showed that tendency of mine, so on Monday after taking Mr. Bob to the cardiologist ("everything's fine.....see you in 3 months"), we stopped at Leon's, a new bakery in town and shared a pulled pork sandwich with extra aioli.














Mr. Bob's radiation

appointment on Tuesday took longer than usual; I would have had to drive over the speed limit to get back to the Manor before they stopped serving dinner, so I found a parking place and we enjoyed seafood at Clancy's......Mr. Bob ordered cedar plank salmon. He said not a word about its being good. I hope it was. My fish and chips were excellent.


This morning early I descended to the bowels of the building and had my hair washed and blown dry before rising to the occasion of taking Bob for his daily dose of electromagnetic waves; from there to the credit union and next our minivan nosed its way to a place called The Toasted Bun where we had a late breakfast.

I'm ashamed of the amount of hedonism I've exhibited in this past week. In my heart of hearts I know that I'd do it again, given the chance. I can feel a New Year's resolution or 2 coming up. Meanwhile, "DECADENCE" is my word of the month. At a nearby school, it appears to be something else.

"Too much of a good thing can be wonderful."
                                  ~ Mae West

OUT TO LUNCH

At the Manor there's an opportunity to go to a restaurant for lunch about once a month or so. When we first moved in, we didn't see the need to partake of that activity since eating in the dining room here struck us as quite enough of a novelty. And good as the food is here and I assure you, we consider it to be very, very good, the time comes when one has tested the chicken cordon bleu and the pot roast and the barbecued beef sandwiches and the peanut butter pie and the myriad of dishes that comprise our meals which varies to an astonishing degree. No complaints there and new things continue to appear in the weekly menus.

Eventually, however, one's palate longs for a bit of variation beyond the cornucopia offered at the Manor and one is tempted to broaden the culinary exposure. After a few months of living here, we started signing up to go with the Out to Lunch Bunch.

We pile into the Manor bus, piloted by Luis, one of the most pleasant and cheerfully helpful chauffeurs around and off we go to challenge our tastebuds.

One month we tried French food. At Le Petite Boulangerie I had a Croque Madame.

At Divina Cucina, Mr. Bob and I shared Spaghetti a la Carbonara.
It's our favorite Italian dish and we always order extra garlic.

We often share our entrée (what does it mean that we insist on our own individual desserts?) and at El Sol we chose to split a Quesadilla del Sol. This was the occasion when Mr. B. enjoyed 2 margaritas followed by Mexican coffee and missed a Physical Therapy appointment. After all, he had a bus driver. Right?

The Lunch Bunch made an exception when we visited the Tam O'Shanter (I know that I reported on this in December and I apologize for the repeat). We ate dinner there and it was the small cut of prime rib that I ordered, rounded out by a C.C. Brown hot fudge sundae that couldn't be considered at all small.

Kerima who shepherds us on these outings makes it a painless experience. She's the one who keeps track of what each person orders and days after we return to the Manor a bill is issued to each of us. None of that having to dicker about who had what. I do pretty well on that part, but it's figuring out the tax and the tip that spoils the whole outing for me, so the way this is set up works perfectly for us.



Now the whole purpose of today's entry is so that I can share with you a picture that I like a lot and I don't know why. It was taken when we lunched at The Raymond House and in case you're curious, my order was for chicken curry and condiments. And water and wine, which accounts for at least 2 of these glasses.